Me Time
by Link and Luigi
Summary: Even Neji has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.


Me Time

**Dedicated to Kellz… happy birthday! Even though some people believe no one has their birthday in April… we proved THEM wrong! That's right, by being born in April, we have WON!**

Neji was sixteen now and, although he would definitely change some things if he could, currently he just couldn't complain. He was a jounin and not many sixteen year olds could say something like that.

Quite some time ago, Neji realized that he needed more "me time". So he decided to take about fifteen minutes out of his day before training to hang out and catch up with himself, and he found that it was profoundly affecting him in a positive way. He felt he had more understanding for not only his own goals in life, but also for other people.

Today, he spent some time in that restaurant that has a grill in the middle of the table and the waitress brings the food and you can just cook it right there on the table. However, Neji, being the stick in the mud he is, wasn't about to cook food even though he had this fun table at hand. Instead, he just got himself a seat and read something.

He knew someone was approaching him. In fact, he knew that person would approach him even before the person himself knew it, that's how awesome Neji was.

He looked up to see a boy he didn't know standing over him. The boy was a few years older than him, and apparently not a ninja.

"Excuse me." The boy said. "I couldn't help but notice that you were sitting by yourself."

Neji nodded, wanting the boy to get to the point so he didn't invade his "me time" any longer.

"So… you want me to order you something?" said the boy as he sat down across from Neji.

Neji put down his book and let out a heavy sigh. He was about to tell the boy that he hated him immensely, when the boy put his hand up.

"It's no trouble!" the boy insisted. "I just want your company! Tell me, what's your name?"

Neji leaned forward and looked the boy square in the eye. "Hyuuga Neji." He replied.

The boy jumped and sprung to his feet. "Oh geez!" he exclaimed. "Sorry! I thought you were a—never mind!"

With that, he ran off as fast as he could.

Neji frowned at the boy and picked his book back up with a slight shake of the head. If he had a dollar for every time that happened…

With a quick glance at the clock, Neji found that he still had ten minutes, enough to finish up the last pages of this chapter if he had absolutely no more distractions. We all know how unrealistic that assumption was.

"Neji!" came the familiarly enthusiastic voice of Rock Lee as he bounded over to where Neji was sitting and took the empty seat. Neji sank behind his book, hoping that maybe if he just ignored Lee, he might go away. We all know how unrealistic THAT assumption is as well. "Hey, what are you doing? Hell-LO?"

"What?" Neji said, looking up.

Lee laughed. "Did that guy just try to pick you up?" Lee asked.

Neji decided not to dignify that with an answer. "Is that why you came here?" he said. "To mock me?"

"No!" Lee said defensively. "I mean, if you didn't wear such flowy clothes and keep your hair so long then maybe—"

"LEE." Neji interrupted.

"Sorry." Lee said quietly. "I really came here to ask if you had decided to train alone today."

"I did decide that." Neji said, trying not to give Lee too much of his precious time and attention. Stealing another glance at the clock, he only had eight more minutes.

"You sure you don't want to train with me?" Lee said, sounding almost pleading.

"Why?" Neji said. "Why today? Why not tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I'm going on a mission!" Lee answered as if it was obvious.

"No you're not." Neji said, seeing right through that lie.

"Fine." Said Lee. "Sorry! I live in the now! I woke up this morning and REALLY wanted to train with you!"

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"PLEASE?" Lee begged.

"Fine." Neji said as if it were NO BIG DEAL.

"GREAT!" Lee bellowed, jumping up and punching the air. "Let's go!"

"Not right now." Neji said, looking annoyed. He still had seven more minutes.

"Why not now?" Lee said in the most upset and betrayed fashion EVER.

"Because I'm doing something." Neji said, deciding that that was plenty enough information that Lee should be satisfied with.

Of course, Lee was NOT satisfied. "All you're doing is READING!" he said. "Training is more important than reading!"

Neji looked up. "I'll meet you at the training grounds in six minutes." He said. "You can get warmed up. You're going to need it."

"That's what I like to hear!" Lee yelled as he ran out of the restaurant as fast as he could.

Okay, all it would take was some speed-reading and maybe Neji could still finish the chapter and no more interruptions.

Almost perfectly on cue, the door of the restaurant opened up and Tenten strolled in nonchalantly. Of course, her random entrance into the restaurant wasn't as pointless as she was and she had a purpose. She went right up to Neji and leaned on the table, waiting for him to say something first.

He wasn't going to say something first. He didn't want to provoke a conversation and besides, she had been the one who had rudely invaded HIS personal space.

"Neji." She said.

That wasn't good enough to get a response from him.

"Neji, anybody home?" Tenten said, waving a hand in front of his face.

If there was one thing Neji couldn't stand, it was pushy people, especially pushy WOMEN.

"What is it?" Neji said in his most angry, yet completely apathetic, tone he could muster.

"Have you seen Lee anywhere?" she asked.

"You interrupt me while I'm reading to ask where Lee is?" Neji evaluated.

"You got it." Tenten said.

"Pitiful." Neji said, getting excessively offended over practically nothing.

"Well?" Tenten pushed after a moment's pause. (She was used to Neji being an ass for seemingly no reason.)

"Well what?" Neji responded.

"Well have you seen Lee?" Tenten repeated. "You know, for someone who claims to be _so _intelligent, you really are rather slow!"

For that comment, she would never receive an answer. Of course, she probably wouldn't have received an answer even if she hadn't said this. In fact, if she had been anyone EXCEPT Tenten, she probably would have been Gentle Fisted into next Tuesday.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you're looking at it) she IS Tenten and remained unharmed. And, being Tenten and all, she was quick to come to the conclusion that that comment wasn't exactly one of her smartest, especially since Neji seemed rather testy today anyway, so she left him with it. With an exasperated sigh, she threw her arms up into the air and stormed out.

Neji sat smugly in his seat, feeling almost satisfied with his success in making Tenten go away without giving her any useful information.

He looked back at the clock. Still three more minutes…

He probably wouldn't be able to finish this chapter at this point so he put his bookmark in and closed it, setting it nicely on the table. What to do for three minutes? He was determined to use all of his fifteen minutes completely, especially since he had to meet Lee afterwards.

So he fiddled with a napkin, organized the condiments and then checked the clock again. Two and a half minutes. What a drag.

He looked around the room at all the people sitting in the restaurant. There was a booth of young men who had just been seated who were now staring at him. He rolled his eyes and turned away.

As he looked at the clock, he saw there was still two minutes.

And, one of the guys stood up, this one being about a year younger than Neji himself, and started coming over. Neji wondered where these young men got the guts to be so bold. HE certainly would never do something so shameful.

"Excuse me," said the boy as he slid into the seat across from Neji.

Neji stood up, grabbed his things and made his way towards the door, but the boy got up and followed him.

"Hey, I didn't mean any offense!" the boy said.

Before the boy could even finish his sentence, Neji spun around and gave the boy a Gentle Fist he would never forget as he got pummeled into the wall, cracking almost the entire side of the restaurant. Patrons screamed as Neji evaluated the damage he had just done. The waitresses stared at him wide eyed, so he figured now was the time to leave.

With only a minute to go, Neji stepped outside the restaurant and sauntered around with no place in particular to go. He had someplace to go in a minute, but until then there was no rhyme or reason for his path.

He counted the seconds in his head and, as he reached sixty, he stopped, turned around and began his way to the training grounds to give Lee the beating he so needed and deserved.

And tomorrow, he'd do it all again.


End file.
